The Associated Press
Published: July 9, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand: The Constitutional Court disqualified Thailand's public health minister from office Wednesday for failing to fully declare his wife's assets, in one of a raft of court cases stacked against the embattled coalition government.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsup "had violated asset disclosure rules" by failing to disclose some of his wife's shareholdings within 30 days of being sworn in as a Cabinet minister, Judge Wasan Soipisut said in the verdict.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Democrat Party said it planned to start impeachment proceedings against Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama over his involvement in a disupte with Cambodia over an ancient temple on their shared border.
The Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that Noppadorn had acted unconstitutionally by signing a communique with Cambodia backing Phnom Penh's application to register the Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter.
Critics claim that by endorsing the comminique, the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej undermined Thai claims to territory around the temple.
"The impeachment motion is being drafted," said Ong-art Klampaiboon, the Democrat Party spokesman.
Samak's government survived a no-confidence motion last month but that vote took place in the lower house of parliament, which is dominated by Samak's coalition. The impeachment action would be brought in the upper house, which is divided fairly evenly between pro- and anti-coalition lawmakers.
Kuthep Saikrajang, spokesman for Samak's People's Power Party, said the prime minister remained confident the six-party coalition would weather the political storm.
"Even though the government is facing some troubles in legal cases, the coalition partners reassure us that they are sticking with the People's Power Party," Kuthep said.
The Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Wattana Asavahame, chairman of one of the coalition parties, after he failed to appear in court to hear a verdict on charges against him of corruption over a water treatment project, a court statement said.
The announcement of the verdict in the case was rescheduled to August 18, the statement said. If convicted Wattana faces up to 10 years in jail.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the dissolution of the People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.
Demonstrators have disrupted traffic in pockets of the capital Bangkok daily since May demanding that Samak and his government resign, saying he is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup.
Samak denies the accusations, saying the protesters are trying to undermine his democratically elected government.
Thaksin faces a slew of court cases charging him with corruption and abuse of power.
The Supreme Court heard the testimonies Tuesday of the first witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate during his time as premier. The court will rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.
Published: July 9, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand: The Constitutional Court disqualified Thailand's public health minister from office Wednesday for failing to fully declare his wife's assets, in one of a raft of court cases stacked against the embattled coalition government.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsup "had violated asset disclosure rules" by failing to disclose some of his wife's shareholdings within 30 days of being sworn in as a Cabinet minister, Judge Wasan Soipisut said in the verdict.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Democrat Party said it planned to start impeachment proceedings against Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama over his involvement in a disupte with Cambodia over an ancient temple on their shared border.
The Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that Noppadorn had acted unconstitutionally by signing a communique with Cambodia backing Phnom Penh's application to register the Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter.
Critics claim that by endorsing the comminique, the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej undermined Thai claims to territory around the temple.
"The impeachment motion is being drafted," said Ong-art Klampaiboon, the Democrat Party spokesman.
Samak's government survived a no-confidence motion last month but that vote took place in the lower house of parliament, which is dominated by Samak's coalition. The impeachment action would be brought in the upper house, which is divided fairly evenly between pro- and anti-coalition lawmakers.
Kuthep Saikrajang, spokesman for Samak's People's Power Party, said the prime minister remained confident the six-party coalition would weather the political storm.
"Even though the government is facing some troubles in legal cases, the coalition partners reassure us that they are sticking with the People's Power Party," Kuthep said.
The Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Wattana Asavahame, chairman of one of the coalition parties, after he failed to appear in court to hear a verdict on charges against him of corruption over a water treatment project, a court statement said.
The announcement of the verdict in the case was rescheduled to August 18, the statement said. If convicted Wattana faces up to 10 years in jail.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the dissolution of the People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.
Demonstrators have disrupted traffic in pockets of the capital Bangkok daily since May demanding that Samak and his government resign, saying he is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup.
Samak denies the accusations, saying the protesters are trying to undermine his democratically elected government.
Thaksin faces a slew of court cases charging him with corruption and abuse of power.
The Supreme Court heard the testimonies Tuesday of the first witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate during his time as premier. The court will rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.
No comments:
Post a Comment